X72D

Up to this point, our experiences with AMD's Phenom II mobile line haven't been very favorable. In the desktop world AMD's chips can compete and succeed based on price, but in notebooks thermal properties get added to the mix. Intel's been very aggressive about controlling the mobile market, but is AMD's "we'll sell you more cores for less" strategy going to translate well? On hand is the ASUS X72D, an entry-level desktop replacement notebook designed for media enthusiasts. Is a triple-core mobile AMD chip paired with budget Mobility Radeon graphics and a Blu-ray drive enough?